Needs More Turbo: This Itty-Bitty 1965 Honda S600 Runs 7s!

Big turbo, 3.2L 2JZ-powered Honda S600 slays the 1320.

We dare you not to smile at this drag car. We double-dare you. With a massive turbo sticking through its hood, this 1965 Honda S600 looks like a photoshopped turbocharger advertisement. However, this car is very real, very fast, and very entertaining. Of course, this 7-second micro-missile exists the only place something like this could: Australia. On their trip to Australia, 1320 Video caught this monster racing in the Modified 10.5 class.

Honda aficionados, and we know a few lurk around here, will know the S600 as Honda’s extremely rare first attempt at building a sports car. Fewer than 2,000 were built and if your first thought is “What a travesty!” then hold on a minute. Builder Phil Penny found this one with only its bare shell remaining. Everything on it and in it, he’s made into a mindblowing 1,200-horsepower drag machine.

Now that we’ve cleared up which microcar is attached to the protruding snail, we can appreciate how absurd literally everything else on the car is. That massive 88-millimeter turbo comes from Billet, an Australian turbo builder. That head-sized turbo feeds an all-billet 2JZ inline-six. That engine choice alone might define the word “overkill” in a car with a 79-inch wheelbase, except the whole combination also runs on methanol. Once you’re locked into a serious horsepower binge, the tendency is to push it as far as you can.

We could walk you through the complete insanity of it, but (A) the video tells most of the story and (B) Speedhunters covered it beautifully back in 2013. Watching this thing run in videos is a true pleasure. If you don’t enjoy this, then we think you probably just don’t enjoy anything. Bask in all things crazy with Phil Penny’s “Rising Force” Honda S600 dragster in this 1320 Video. Stick around to the end to see the crew put it away in what looks like a landscaping trailer, too.